Assistant or Associate Professor, Furniture Design

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Position Description

The Department of Furniture Design at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) invites applications for a full-time faculty appointment at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor, to commence in fall 2027. Rank will be dependent on professional status and teaching experience.

RISD recognizes principles of social equity, inclusion, and diversity as fundamental to its mission as an art and design school. These principles require sustained attention to a multiplicity of differences and call for an expansion of the forms of knowledge that shape our curricula and pedagogy. RISD is committed to the collective work of institutional transformation and values applicants whose teaching, pedagogical and professional experiences have prepared them to foster and sustain equitable learning environments. We especially welcome faculty whose pedagogy engages diverse perspectives, expands forms of knowledge, and helps foster a culture of belonging where all students, staff, and faculty can thrive.

The Department of Furniture Design seeks candidates who exemplify excellence in the field of furniture and object design. Applicants should be capable of guiding students through idea generation, design development, and object-making with a variety of fabrication technologies and processes, applied to a wide range of materials. Faculty in the Department of Furniture Design are expected to teach across the curriculum, including introductory courses, special topics studios, and senior degree project/graduate thesis. The department’s pedagogy and curriculum seeks to unify thinking and making, and faculty engagement with students requires fluidity between pragmatic, conceptual, technical, and aesthetic concerns. With studio facilities for wood, metal, plastics, upholstery, digital fabrication, design, and drawing, faculty work closely with students in developing their work from initial concept to highly resolved object.

The department actively engages with the broader networks of art, design, craft, and industry, fostering relationships that connect students and faculty to diverse practices, communities, and professional contexts. We value applicants who bring experience and interest in developing curricular initiatives, partnerships, and collaborations, and who thrive in environments where knowledge is shared across disciplines and between academic, cultural, and professional spheres. Applicants should see the expansive field of furniture design as an opportunity to build connections across practices and contribute to evolving conversations within the field and its wider networks.Required Qualifications

  • A Master’s degree or Bachelor’s degree.
  • Evidence of a high level of creative practice demonstrated by all or some of the following: a record of exhibitions; commercial work with industry; receipt of grants, fellowships, prizes or residencies; coverage in relevant media; lectures and other presentations; credible research activity.
  • A minimum of 2 years of experience teaching at the college level with responsibility for authoring syllabi and course design.
  • Proficiency with design processes, including: research, drawing, model-making, prototyping, and digital design methods.
  • Broad knowledge, skills, and experience in industrial and craft-based production techniques.
  • A collaborative approach driven by proactive participation and a shared commitment to institutional excellence.
  • Strong spoken and written communication skills.
  • Demonstrated commitment to fostering equitable learning environments where a diverse student body can thrive, using inclusive, culturally responsive, and accessible pedagogies to support critical engagement with art and design.

Preferred Qualifications

  • A terminal degree in Furniture Design or related field.
  • 5 years experience in teaching or professional practice with demonstrated leadership skills.
  • Active participation in contemporary cultures of design, craft, and/or art, and a network of professional connections within and beyond these disciplines.
  • Evidence of involvement in co-curricular program development including but not limited to: partner and sponsored studios, collaborative teaching and/or organizing off campus exhibitions
  • Accomplishments in writing and/or scholarly work related to design criticism, design history, material culture, etc.
  • Expertise with CAD and digital fabrication.

RISD/ Department Description

RISD is a nonprofit college and museum of art and design founded in 1877 in the city of Providence, RI. Today 2,606 students from 62 countries engage in more than 40 full-time bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, supported by a committed faculty and worldwide network of more than 33,000 alumni.

By cultivating expansive and elastic thinking, RISD equips artists, designers and scholars to generate and challenge the ideas that shape our world.

RISD has a critical review process, which is very similar to the tenure process at other institutions. RISD supports faculty professional practice with sabbaticals, pre-critical review leave, conference funds, and professional development grants. For more information about RISD, please visit www.risd.edu.

RISD’s Department of Furniture Design was created to educate the next generation of furniture designers and to elevate practice, scholarship and research in the discipline. With a robust curriculum, extensive studio facilities, and dedicated faculty and staff, students create work in a dynamic environment supportive of experimentation and personal growth. The department is committed to evolving furniture design with an approach that is broad-based, incorporating the most relevant aspects of design, art, and craft. Our curriculum explores contextual issues, investigates new challenges of human interface in contemporary environments, integrates new technologies and addresses the complexities of our times. The department holds an expansive view of furniture, inclusive of a diverse range of typologies, materials, contexts, and approaches.

Our programs provide meaningful opportunities for students to express their individual perspectives through well made objects that enhance the experiences of people who use them. Students develop their conceptual and technical abilities by designing and building with genuine materials and at full scale. Through our sequenced curriculum, students investigate emerging challenges presented by new technologies, materials, economic and ecologic conditions, and changes in societal patterns. With an ambition to integrate thinking and making, knowledge and theory are emphasized equally with skills and practice. Our department is not material-specific or limited in technique or context, but instead foregrounds the interests, inspirations, and curiosities of individual students. With approximately 90 students (80% undergraduate, 20% graduate), 24 faculty members (2 full time, 21 adjunct), and 4 support staff (3 technicians, 1 academic coordinator) the department features a close-knit community of individuals who share a passion for learning, art and design, and the expressive potential of objects.Faculty Responsibilities

The full-time faculty teaching load is five teaching units a year, which in most departments correlates to teaching five courses per year. In addition to teaching, full-time faculty are expected to maintain a dynamic professional practice, serve on college committees, advise students, participate in curriculum development and other departmental and/or divisional activities and projects, and contribute to the vibrancy of the intellectual life of the college.Salary Information

For information about base pay for this position, please refer to Article XII “Salaries” (p. 19-22) in the Faculty Association Collective Bargaining Contract 2025-2028. The contract indicates the minimum base salary for each rank.Special Instructions to Applicants

RISD Faculty Search Committees comprise colleagues from within and outside of the hiring Department.

Please attach the following to to the appropriate links in the section labeled “Documents Needed to Apply”:

1.) Letter of intent that addresses the qualifications and responsibilities listed above (2 pages maximum).

2.) Curriculum vitae: Please do not list your age/date of birth, national origin, or citizenship status.

3.) A teaching philosophy that includes your approach to inclusive pedagogy and provides examples of how you have put it into practice through teaching, mentoring, or professional experience (2 pages maximum).

4.) Examples of Syllabi

Please include 2 syllabi from classes you have taught where you had or shared responsibility for authoring the syllabus. Each syllabus should be formatted as a single PDF document with a cover page that briefly introduces and contextualizes the course.

5.) Examples of Creative / Professional Work

Please provide a portfolio of your professional work, including images and descriptions as necessary. This document should adhere to the following formatting requirements:

  • Save as a single PDF file.
  • Include a cover page.
  • Do not exceed 21 pages (including the cover page). Submissions that exceed 21 pages and/or do not include a cover page will not be reviewed.
  • Optimize for viewing in landscape orientation, on-screen, at high-resolution.
  • Files should not be larger than 20 MB.
  • If you would like to include sound or video media, please link within the PDF to an external platform for viewing and limit these to no more than 5 minutes in duration.

6.) Examples of student work

Please provide a portfolio showing the work of students who have been enrolled in classes you have taught, including images and descriptions as necessary. This document should adhere to the following formatting requirements:

  • Save as a single PDF file.
  • Include a cover page.
  • Do not exceed 21 pages (including the cover page). Submissions that exceed 21 pages and/or do not include a cover page will not be reviewed.
  • Optimize for viewing in landscape orientation, on-screen, at high-resolution.
  • Files should not be larger than 20 MB.
  • If you would like to include sound or video media, please link within the PDF to an external platform for viewing and limit these to no more than 5 minutes in duration.

Applications may not be edited once they are certified and submitted.

Only materials that have been requested will be considered.

Names and contact information for three references are requested as part of the application process at the finalist stage.

Review of applications begins immediately and continues until the position is filled. Candidates who submit their materials by January 5, 2027 are assured full consideration.EEO Statement

How to apply

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RISD is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetics, or any other protected characteristic as established by law.

RISD is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetics, or any other protected characteristic as established by law.

Founded in 1877, Rhode Island School of Design (or “RIZ-dee” for the acronym RISD) is one of the oldest and best-known colleges of art and design in the U.S. Each year approximately 2,300 students from around the world pursue a creative, studio-based education at RISD, which offers rigorous bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in 19 architecture, design, fine arts and art education majors. The college is located in Providence, Rhode Island, which offers its own vibrant art scene and is conveniently located between two other major cultural centers: Boston and New York.